A quarrel broke out between the tea stall owner and the appellant in December 1998 after the latter threw a half-burnt cigarette into the bucket used by the owner for washing cups. (AI-generated image)

Reinforcing the settled principle that quality of evidence prevails over quantity, the Supreme Court has upheld a man’s conviction for murdering a tea stall owner in Gujarat following a quarrel triggered by a half-burnt cigarette that was thrown into a bucket used for washing utensils.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B Varale opined that the man’s appeal, dismissed by the Gujarat High Cour t, did not warrant any interference as the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“It is a settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that it is the quality and not the quantity of evidence which is determinative.…